


Tales of Adventure- Step Across the Water

by nopenoper



Series: Tales of Adventure- A Series of One-Shots [2]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Cute Marinette Dupain-Cheng, F/M, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Marinette Dupain-Cheng-centric, Mermaid Marinette Dupain-Cheng, gender gets assumed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-05
Updated: 2019-01-05
Packaged: 2019-10-05 01:04:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 839
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17315153
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nopenoper/pseuds/nopenoper
Summary: A look into Marinette, her past, and how she finds Adrien.





	Tales of Adventure- Step Across the Water

**Author's Note:**

> hi sorry this took so long I've been through the ringer lately lol but I figured I should write something
> 
> listen to Step Across the Water in the Tales of Adventure album it's a bop 
> 
> ok I wouldn't necessarily call it that but it inspired this so 
> 
> yeah 
> 
> hope you enjoy
> 
> also Adrien gets his gender assumed.  
> correctly, but I dunno if that'll bother anyone. Cheers.

The sight of light filtering through waves has always been fascinating to Marinette.

 

Even as a young pup, still nursing, as her mother Sabine had always reminisced, she had been keen at staring at the streaks and rays that sliced through the blue expanse. It was the only thing to stop her from crying when all else failed, even though she was a content pup for the most part.

 

Well, Marinette was Sabine’s only child, so she didn’t have much to base her conclusion off of. "But," she always claimed, "I'm pretty sure Marinette was a comparatively happy pup."

 

And yes, Marinette had lived a good childhood. She had a loving family, friends that came and went, lots of love and support as she grew into maturity- she had no lack of pleasant memories of playing and hunting and cooking with the mers she loved.

 

Perhaps that reminder of her childhood was what she still found so soothing about it even today. Even as Marinette drifted closer to the surface she glimpsed up at the sun, even reaching out a hand above her to feel its warmth caress her skin above the crests of the waves. Every time she does this, despite playful warnings from her pod of the pain, itch, and reddening of the skin that occurs from being too close to the surface for too long, she wishes that she could allow her whole body to feel that warmth. Even if just for a little bit.

 

She’s seen glimpses of some of the land-dwellers on their vessels lounge in the light for extended amounts of time, and has been overwhelmed with jealousy.

 _How come they’re able to come into our territory and be able to remain for_ sun-cycles, _while we can’t even handle mere counts in theirs? It’s not fair._

 

_I wish I could know more about them- though they are oddly-shaped, I’m sure they have a culture of their own. I wonder how their split tail comes into play- fascinating._

 

She’s seen them dance aboard their ships, she’s seen them tug at ropes systematically to move the boat as they desire, she’s seen people kiss much like how mers do, she’s seen little land-dweller pups… it’s all so fascinating. And there could be so much more to learn…

 

Marinette scoffed at her own childish hopes.

_As if I’d be able to find out anything, there’s no way we speak the same language!_

 

_… and that’d be assuming that I could find a way to talk to land-dwellers._

 

_… which would be assuming that there was one here that I didn’t have to hide from._

 

Marinette, as she has done every time the topic comes to her since she was a pup, slumped. She drifted a few meters below the surface.  

 

_Oh well._

 

A few counts of silence passed, with Marinette swimming at a leisurely pace, still lost in her thoughts.

 

Her reflection was interrupted by something blocking her view of the sun.

 

_What is that?_

_It almost looks like a turtle… no, it’s too long and skinny._

_And it’s no fish or shark- it doesn't have a tail._

_Maybe driftwood… no. It’s too smooth._

 

She took a closer look.

 

_Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me. It’s a boat._

_But there doesn’t seem to be any hooks around it, so they’re not hunting… but it’s not moving as quickly as other boats… this is odd._

 

Marinette’s curiosity once again seized her.

_I have to go see what this is._

 

Cautiously, Marinette swam closer to the boat and poked her head above the water, praying that nothing would see her and attack. It took her eyes a few terrifying moments to adjust to the light above water, which rendered her temporarily blind. Then she was able to see again.

 

It was a small boat, and it rocked precariously against the waves. Marinette was sure that it would capsize if ever caught in a storm.

Within it was a lone land-dweller. Their face looked more like one of the males in her pod, and they had no visible breasts, so she assumed that they were a male. He had messy, floofy hair, but the color was gorgeous, like sun rays bent around his head.

 

He was pale, paler than the other humans she’s spotted. Marinette hoped that his pallor didn’t mean that he was ill- sickness is never pleasant.

 

The land-dweller also looked exhausted, also another sign of sickness, but seemed to be in good spirits. He was grinning from ear to ear, and had a… lightness in his eyes and his shoulders that gave the impression that this land-dweller had just been alleviated of a huge burden, like the relief one finds when they’re able to break free from an especially tangled net.

 

He was strange… but pleasantly so.

  

_His boat is barely propelled, it looks like he’s mostly utilizing the stronger currents that will bring him around the curve of the coast. It will take him a while though… I want to investigate more. This is truly fascinating._

 


End file.
